By Bill Wilson Good preaching comes in a myriad of forms in a multitude of settings. Don’t let anyone fool you: there is no one way to preach a sermon, as the diversity of styles that have developed over the…
Running the race on the first saturday of May
Reflections from Saturday May 4th I’m pondering the significance of this day–the first Saturday of May in 2013. Traditionally in my place of residence, Columbia, S.C., it marks the beginning of the transition from spring to summer. Temperatures typically start…
Jesus, the original hipster?
A new ad aimed at making Jesus more culturally relevant has a major church working to re-brand the image of Jesus. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn started a campaign that is gaining national attention. The ad has captured the attention of pop culture with picturing Jesus as the…
Managing time in worship
By Bob Burroughs Recently, I’ve been thinking about time, specifically issues concerning “time” leadership in the church. Time is the 21st century’s new currency. Think about it. People most often these day do not ask, “How much will this cost?”…
A tribute to H. Leon McBeth
By Charles Deweese Dr. H. Leon McBeth died this week in Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to his retirement, he taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1962 to 2003. This professor of Baptist history made an indelible mark on tens…
I do not identify with race
As American Christians, we say that we are ambassadors of Christ, yet we are unable to reconcile with others because of race. We allow our racial identity to dictate what part of Christ’s calling we will fulfill. We have more faith…
A letter to the SBNR
By Amy Butler Dear Spiritual But Not Religious Friends, Are your ears burning? You’re causing quite a stir in my circles these days. Many of my colleagues claim you are the biggest challenge of the church today. You probably didn’t…
There is no them, only us
As a pastor, even in the free-church, priesthood of believers, Baptist tradition, I feel a need to respond and minister in a profound way when tragedy strikes. If I’m being honest, part of that tug comes from my understanding of…
Longing for vision
By Molly T. Marshall Without it — that vision thing — we will not fulfill God’s longing for us. Indeed, we may well perish. Following the Eastertide texts in Acts, vision seems to be the catalyst for the boundary traversing…
Don’t call your next pastor. Draft your next pastor.
The pastor search process might be a whole lot more fun (or funny) if it was run like the National Football League draft. Why go through months—even years—of searching for the right pastor when you just need to be ready…
Protecting the church from violence
By Terrell Carter With multiple incidents occurring over the past year in churches of all kinds, what is the responsibility of local church leaders in order to protect their congregations from random acts of violence? This question is not strictly…
When the church is at its best
Hardly a day goes by that I do not read some criticism of the church—whether in its local, national, or global expressions. I acknowledge that there is much to criticize but there is much to praise as well. As I worshiped last…